We walked from home to the riverside, and I thought it was really exaggerated to get there so early. Yes, the show sounds incredible and yes, there is a lot of people wanting to be there, but arriving 4 hours earlier sounded like too much. Even since we got there with so much time in advance, they shut the door almost ten minutes after we arrived. It was so incredibly crowded, that even walking through so many people was difficult. Finally we made it, we were right in front of the London Eye to see the fireworks and celebrate the new 2014. Only, we needed to wait.

Being there, just waiting, for four hours wasn’t so terrible. People’s attitude towards being in a crowded place is really incredible, and as usual there will be people fighting, pushing, shouting, but then, in that microcosmos that surrounds you, you just want to be happy and enjoy a good night. You know you are going to be there for hours, so you might as well make it fun. In the end, we were playing games, and meeting our neighbors. When we arrive there we were a party of nine, and when we left we were ten! It is always nice to meet people that way!

New Year’s Eve in London

The multisensorial-Vodafone-sponsored New Year’s Eve started at 11:30, and it was multisensorial because in the door we received a bag of goodies, with a portable wristband (hence, the contact), with some fruit candy, and just at midnight they released some really powerful fruit gases (and there is the smell) and with some music and fireworks it really was multisensorial.

New Year’s Eve in London

The show was the best fireworks I have ever seen, first because we were so close, they lasted for hours and I was sharing that moment with my brother and some friends.

According to the newspaper next day, we were 300,000 people watching that show by the river. One interesting -although a little bit painful- thing that they do, is that the London Police close the streets near the river, so the exit is in a controlled environment. It makes it really safe, because you are packed with only a few people near you, but also makes it really slow and painful, since walking from Embankment to Trafalgar Square -a 400 meters walk- took about 90 minutes.

The show was totally worth it, and if you really want to celebrate New Year’s Eve, then near the London Eye you want to be!